In Our World: Book 8 - Into The Past
by matthewmspace
Summary: It's been a few months since Ottans. The children are growing up and all is well. But when a a mysterious Portal appears, everyone is thrown for a loop.
1. Chapter 1 - Memories and Weirdness

Alright, time to hopefully break free of this _In Our World _creativity slump. Welcome to Book 8, BTW! If you haven't read the stories in the order I have them in my bio, go back and read all those. Sorry for all the prerequisite reading, but none of this will make sense. Now let's get started with Chapter 1.

**CHAPTER 1 – Memories and Weirdness**

(P to me) Both Dylan and Julia were growing up fast. It had been great to see them growing up. They were still as adorable as when they were born. Since Emily and I had made all four of the children face X about 3 months earlier, it'd been pretty quiet. But we always kept a watchful gaze on Blowhole, prepping for his whatever his next plan would be if he were de-mind-jacked again.

The children were a handful sometimes, when they were being mischievous. Thankfully, I was always able to make them stop. And they complained about too much power. But I was their father. I wasn't trying to be a total jerk, though, as I did let them have fun. But only when Emily and I had both agreed to let them have fun. That had just happened, actually.

"Thanks for letting us have fun this time Mom and Dad," Dylan said happily to Emily and I. "You're welcome. But do you have to be so mischievous all the time?" I asked them. Both he and Julia chuckled. "It's not our fault. Right Mom?" Julia asked Emily.

"Yes, it's your father's fault," Emily said. "Sorry honey, but as I always remind you, it was your idea," I said to her smirking. "You'll never let that go will you?" Emily asked me. "Nope. Never," I said kissing her.

"Isn't curiosity better than mischievousness Mom and Dad?" Anna asked Skipper and Marlene. "Oh, by far sweetie. But your curiosity has gotten the better of you," Skipper said to her and Sam.

"It's still not my fault! It was Anna who pressed the button on the Segway!" Samuel exclaimed. * "Says the Pengotter that came up with the idea," Anna said to him, smirking. Sam frowned. "Come on, you know you could have talked me out of it," he said.

Dylan and Julia were snickering at their cousins ranting about each other. "Now, now children, that's enough," Marlene said to Anna and Sam. They dropped that subject. "Now let's get up for our training, shall we?" Skipper asked everyone. We all saluted him and climbed out of the hatch.

We all did well, as usual. Things had been quiet ever since Dylan and Julia had been born. That was good, as they had been trained and were able to defend themselves. The last thing Emily and I wanted was for them to wind up where she had been. Sam and Anna had done a good job of training them.

I was actually slightly jealous of the two. They had learned first what our children could do. And they had trained our children first. ** That was our job. But, at least they were ready. That was the most important thing.

After awhile, we finished with our training. "Alright everyone, good training session today," Skipper said to us all. "How did we do?" Julia asked Emily and I. "You did great sweetie. I wish we had trained you. But you did a good job, Annabelle and Samuel," Emily said to them.

They smiled. "Thanks. It was only logical. Can you imagine if someone attacked and we had to get us out of it?" Sam asked us all. We all thought for a moment as if that had happened. "That would have been even more insane than what actually did happen," I said.

"That was a fun ruse," Dylan said. Both he and Julia smiled. "You sure fooled us all. Something made you grow up fast," I said. "You really don't remember us communicating when I was pregnant with you two?" Emily asked our children. *** "No Mom. In fact, we actually wish we did," Julia said.

"That serum was the same batch as the one that spilled on you two. How come you, Marlene, couldn't communicate with Anna and Sam, but Emily could with Dylan and Julia?" I asked her. "Well, I was only pregnant for three months. Maybe the four and a half months did something to that," Marlene suggested.

"That is a good possibility. After all, I was pregnant for twice as long as we're supposed to be. That sure was an interesting few months," Emily said happily. "Yeah, you got us," Dylan said happily, speaking of himself and Julia. We gave them big hugs, so happy they were our children.

Suddenly we all heard the bell for the zoo to open. "Honey?" Emily asked me. "Absolutely," I said to her happily, kissing her. I then sent her, Marlene, Anna, and Julia to the Otter habitat. "That's still insane to me Dad," Dylan said to me. "It is to me too. I owe that to you, Sam, and Anna, for suggesting we test that," I said to Sam. ****

"It's no problem Uncle Matthew. Remember how surprised you all were when we showed you?" Sam asked everyone. "Yes, that was interesting. That was right after you stopped Blowhole for the 2nd time. And, interestingly, on the same day as Emily came here," Skipper said.

I sighed longingly, remembering that day. "Once again, thank you so much for bringing us together," I said happily. "You helped bring Marlene and I together. And you fulfilled her prophecy," Skipper said. ***** "Now that is still crazy. But awesome," I said.

(P to Emily) "That's still wild to me Mom that Dad can do that," Julia said to me. "I know sweetie. It is for me too. Thanks for suggesting that you test that Annabelle," I said to her. She smiled. "You're welcome Aunt Emily. But it's a shame when we lose that," Annabelle said.

"Or if we forget about it," Marlene said. I shivered, since that had happened. "I'm sorry sis. Does that bring back a bad memory?" Marlene asked me apologetically. "It does. But thank you for the apology," I said to her. "I'm so glad you were born after we got back," I said to Julia.

"Me too, from what you told us Mom. I don't want to be a slave of his and hurt anyone," she said to me happily. "Sam and I helped Uncle Matthew stop Blowhole," Annabelle said happily.

"Thank you for unknowingly fulfilling my prophecy," I said to her. "I wish I remembered that," Marlene said. "It's probably for the best you don't Mom," Annabelle said to her. Marlene smiled. "Well, yes, based off what you showed me," she said happily.

(P to me after the zoo closes) "That was a fun day," I said to everyone after they came back. "I agree Dad. Alice had a good batch of popcorn today," Julia said happily. We all laughed, as Alice had ignored the popcorn once again. "Are you doing that honey?" Emily asked me.

"Actually, no. It's weird. Of course, she hasn't checked in years, right?" I asked the original five. ****** "Nope. Not since the popcorn covered the entire zoo," Marlene said happily. We all laughed. "Wow, it's really been 7 years since I saw that. So much time…" I said, trailing off into the memories of the show.

Except for the children, we all remembered what we were doing back then. I was at home, Skipper and Marlene and the guys were doing the obvious, and Emily was at the aquarium with her parents still. It had hurt her the hardest, but she had all of us now. Her sister, and her new larger family. Life was good.

Suddenly, we saw sparks coming from the middle of the HQ. But nothing was there, so we totally backed away. And then a yellow Portal appeared. "Kowalski?" Skipper asked him suspiciously. "It's not mine Skipper. And everyone is accounted for right now," Kowalski said.

"Yeah, we popped out of the yellow Portal last time," Anna said, speaking of herself, Sam, and I. ******* "Whatever it is, I'll shut it down," I said. I thought in script to shut it down. "Honey?" Emily asked me after a minute. "I'm trying. Why isn't it working? It always does here," I said.

Suddenly, the wind picked up. To get us away, I sent us to the park. "OK, that was just weird," Sam said. "I know. Why couldn't I shut it down?" I said. "Well, at least we're away from it," Emily said.

As we were about to continue talking, it popped up again. Once again I couldn't stop it. The wind picked up again as well. But I couldn't do anything else again. "This is like the first Portal," Marlene shouted. We were all clinging to a tree, trying not to get sucked in. We were about to call our Escape Suits, but lost our grip as the wind got stronger.

And then we fell through the Portal. It promptly closed as we tried to get back. "This is just ridiculous," I said as we fell through the tunnel. "Kowalski, are you sure this isn't yours?" Skipper asked him. "No. I haven't done anything relating to the Portals.

Suddenly another one opened a little ahead. But we couldn't see anything up ahead. We were all getting a bad feeling about what was happening to us. "Where do you think we'll end up?" Julia asked us all. "Hopefully not in my world, so that I can get us home easier," I said. We passed through the Portal and hit a wall, blacking out.

Not the best intro chapter, but it gets the job done. Please review it. Hopefully it is good to read until my next chapter comes out. I've got lots of notes today.

* Referencing _Pengotters: The Early Months_.

** Referencing _Ottans: The Early Months_.

*** Referencing Book 7.

**** Referencing Book 5.

***** Referencing _Pengotters: The Early Months_ and _Book 5._

****** Referencing "Popcorn Panic".

******* Referencing Book 4.


	2. Chapter 2 - Dumped In A Strange Place

Welcome to chapter 2 of this book. Let's see where we all ended up, shall we?

**CHAPTER 2 – Dumped In A Strange Place**

(P staying with me) We all woke up surrounded by humans. I was still a Penguin, which meant we were still in their world. There weren't any windows, though, so we couldn't get out easily. But there were stairs for going down somewhere. "Where did these Otters and Penguins come from?" they were asking. I tried to send us back to New York, but it wasn't working.

"Kowalski, options," Skipper said to him. "I propose we act coy and just go past all these humans and hide in the nearest tree when we get outside," Kowalski answered. "You don't think they'll try to capture us?" Anna asked him. "They're probably in shock that we broke out of a zoo, so I calculate there is an 80% chance not," he answered.

"That's better than a 0% chance, I guess," Sam said. We stood up and just tried to walk past all the confused humans. They kept looking at us extremely confused. After we got down the stairs somewhat, there weren't any more humans so we sped up until we got to the bottom.

There was an exit, but inside the room were a few statues and paintings. It looked familiar, but I couldn't remember. We slid and ran outside and hid in a tree. Moments later, a news van rolled up to the building. We all looked up the building and it was tall with a point on it.

"What building is that?" Julia asked us all. "It does look familiar," I said. * "I can't recall. Do you have your phone?" Kowalski asked me. I tried to reach into the weird pocket-type thing and it wasn't there. "Sorry, but I don't have it. I must have left it back home. There's got to be some maps around here though," I said.

We kept jumping from tree to tree while discussing our situation. "Why did the Portal send us to here?" Marlene asked. "And why can't I do anything?" I questioned. "Out of everything that's happened to us, this is the strangest," Private said. "Yeah. It just dumped us here with no explanation," Emily said.

We then spotted a map and after making absolutely sure there were no humans, jumped out of the tree and went over to it. "Boston? Why Boston? What's special about Boston, besides the obvious?" Dylan asked. "I don't know. But we are pretty far from New York," I said. "215 miles, to be exact," Kowalski said.

I once again tried to get us home, but failed again. "How long would it take to get home?" Anna asked Kowalski. "By walking, it would take nearly 3 days, but by driving, it would take 4 hours," he answered. "We're not in the zoo this time, so flying is out as an option. We'll have to commandeer a car," Skipper said.

"We're going to really have to watch out for humans for long. Once someone knows the car is gone, they'll be looking for it," I said. "We did take a car from Los Angeles to San Francisco," Skipper pointed out. ** "Oh, yeah. I almost forgot," I said, embarrassed.

We started looking for a car. I kept trying to make anything happen and it wasn't working still. "Are you ok Dad?" Julia asked me caringly. I sighed. "Sort of. I'm glad we're still all together, but I'm just so used to being able to change anything that I'm just stressed," I answered, a little embarrassed.

"Just try to relax honey. I'm sure we'll figure this out," Emily said to me. I smiled at her. "Thank you Emily. You always know what to say," I said happily to her. We continued looking around until we spotted a suitable car. "Hmm, it's a little old, but it should get the job done," Kowalski said. It was a 2008 model Prius. While it was nearly 10 years old at this point, those had always gotten good gas mileage for their time.

We prepared to borrow the car. First, we checked to see if there were any humans around and there were not. We tried to open the door and it had been left unlocked. "So much for securing your car," I thought to myself. The keys weren't in the car, so we had to hotwire it. We then started to drive it out of Boston and towards New York.

"I feel sorry for whoever owns this car. They've lost it for awhile," I said. "Well, after we restore your ability to change things again, we can easily send it back," Kowalski said. "That's true. But I will keep trying to make that work during this drive," I said. "Make sure to not use it on ourselves while we're driving Dad," Dylan said to me. "Don't worry about it. I don't want to destroy this car," I said chuckling.

We kept alternating in shifts to drive the car. I focused completely on driving when it was my turn, though, so that I wouldn't be the cause of an accident. But whenever it wasn't, I was always trying to summon a few fish into the car. Only that simple item, so that if it worked, we could pull over and stop before going home.

We thankfully had no trouble with the police, as we obeyed all the laws. We actually didn't see many either, which might have gone bad if they saw we were animals driving a car. We kept trying to discuss our situation. That yellow Portal had formed for no reason we could think of and it had dumped us in Boston. It was so strange.

After driving the 4 hours to New York, we finally got into the park and stopped the car. "Well that was easy," Julia said. "Definitely. We made it here without having to fill the car up and had no trouble with the law," Skipper said. As we were about to walk inside, we heard a shipping truck and jumped into a tree.

Luckily, the driver didn't see us. "What fresh madness is this? I don't recall any transfers for today," Skipper said. We went to the shipping dock on the other side and watched the driver give it to Alice, who then left to somewhere else without it.

That's a cliffhanger for you guys! They're always fun to write. Please review this chapter in the meantime. Let's look at the two notes I have today.

* For the record, it's the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston. Map and Google it for info.

** Referencing all the way back to Book 2.


	3. Chapter 3 - 2008

Alright, let's solve that cliffhanger, shall we? Yep.

**CHAPTER 3 – 2008**

(P to Marlene) As we were about to open the crate, something made us stop. We then heard small, sad sobbing. We also heard a voice coming from the crate. "Why? Why did I have to be transferred from home?" the voice asked. This all seemed too familiar.

The voice continued. "Why was I split up from my family? I wanted to be with them, not split apart. I might never see them again. I want to be back home with my parents and my little sister Emily," the voice said. On that, Emily and I looked at each other.

This situation was now instantly familiar to me. This was the day I had been transferred away from Monterey. Our husbands seemed to recognize that as well, because they led us out of the zoo while everyone else followed

"Marlene. That was you in there, wasn't it?" Matthew asked me. "I think so," I answered honestly. "Why are we back in 2008?" Emily asked us. "Kowalski?" Annabelle asked him. "I'm not entirely sure. But we need to not change anything," Kowalski said.

"We also cannot let you guys run into your other selves," Matthew said, speaking of those of us who were here in 2008. We all shivered with the thought of the universe being ripped to shreds because of ourselves.

(P to me) "What's our plan Dad?" Sam asked Skipper. "We don't have access to the zoo, since we would definitely run into ourselves, some of us aren't supposed to be here yet, or don't exist yet," he answered.

"We also can't run into either our friends or enemies from outside the zoo, so we will have to keep a very low profile," Skipper answered. "Rico, what do we have for supplies?" Kowalski asked him. Rico released a few smoke bombs, stink bombs, his flamethrower, a few knockout bombs, a few walkie-talkies, unlit dynamite, and a few grappling guns.

"Well, we've got some supplies at least," Anna said. "Kowalski, how long would it take you to make a Chronotron so we can get home?" Julia asked him. "With the right equipment we can get from the midtown lab, it should not take me more than a few hours," Kowalski said.

Upon that, we were relieved that our problem would only last a few hours. But until then, we would have to hide very well. "Skipper, do you remember doing any missions that involved going out of the zoo back here?" I asked him. "Actually, we didn't run many missions back all in 2008," he answered.

"The first mission we had in awhile was actually when you Marlene, stumbled into the HQ," Skipper continued. The two then sighed longingly, remembering that day. And that was potentially the day we were stuck in or a few away.

"Mom, can we see that memory when we get home?" Anna asked Marlene. She smiled. "Absolutely sweetie. I remember it as if it were yesterday," she said happily. We started heading to the sewer, where we would use it to travel quietly to the lab.

"I'm glad we now know where you went sis. It hurt me, when you were, as we now know, forcibly transferred away," Emily said to her. "As you heard, it hurt me too, to be taken away from you and Mom and Dad," Marlene replied. They shared a hug, so happy to have been with each other again for over a year now.

We opened the manhole and after making sure there were no rats around, jumped into the sewer. We all hated the smell we came upon it, but without gas masks, we had to deal with it. "How long were you crying for?" I asked Marlene delicately. "Well, at least a few hours," Marlene answered.

"I was really sad, but then I suddenly got the urge to explore," Marlene said. We chuckled. "Your curiosity got the better of you, didn't it Mom?" Sam asked her. Marlene chuckled as well. "Yes, it did. I don't exactly remember why I got curious all of a sudden, but I did," she answered.

"Well, when we get home and I can change things again, I'll restore that to your mind," I said to Marlene. She smiled. "Thank you. Because I've always tried to remember why, but I just can't," she said blushing. "At least you did see me again," Emily said happily to her sister.

"Yes, we finally reunited after over 6 years," Marlene said happily. * "And look at what happened to both of us. We became married and have children," Emily said happily. The two sisters hugged yet again, so happy.

Our families then got into a hug before we went on our way again. Both of them were right. Whatever had made Marlene curious had made her wind up in the Penguin habitat, it had caused all of this. After we would get home, I would definitely restore Marlene's memory so we could know what it was.

After slowly and carefully walking through the sewers and keeping a watchful eye out for the rats, we arrived in midtown. After making sure no one would see us, especially X, wherever he was, we started heading to the lab.

We waited for someone to open the door to the building and then went inside. We used the grappling guns to get into the air ducts. Looking down, no humans spotted or heard us, which meant we really were good at our training lately.

Finally, we reached the lab we were looking for and left the air duct. Unfortunately, one of the scientists was working, so we had to temporarily knock him out. There was a whiteboard behind him saying no accidents occurred in 200 days, but as he fell, the scientist wiped that away. I chuckled silently, remembering that from the show so many years ago. ** Well, technically a few years in the future, as of this exact moment in time.

We all then dropped onto the floor. "So what do we need Kowalski?" Dylan asked him. "We need…" Kowalski said before stopping. "Yes Kowalski?" Julia asked him. "Hmm. Anyone else feel tingly?" he asked us. We answered that, no, we didn't feel tingly.

"Strange. Maybe it's a side affect of the time travel," Kowalski said. "Maybe, but we need to focus Kowalski," Skipper said to him, trying to get him to refocus on our task of getting home.

"Right Skipper. Sorry about that," Kowalski said. "Now I shall try to ignore this tingly feeling. Now as I was trying to say before, we need…" Kowalski said before suddenly vanishing.

Ooh, another cliffhanger! Gotta love them. So did you like this chapter? Please review it. I have two notes today.

* The show started in March 2009. Marlene was probably transferred at least a few months earlier, so most likely in October or November 2008.

** Referencing "Out Of Time" at the same lab with the slapping the doctor scene.


	4. Chapter 4 - Vanishing Acts

Welcome to chapter 4. Shall we solve the cliffhanger? Let's.

**CHAPTER 4 – Vanishing Acts**

(P staying with me) "Kowalski?" we asked around the lab. Right in front of our eyes, Kowalski had just vanished. We knew it wasn't me, since I had no power here back in 2008. "Where did Kowalski go Dad?" Anna asked Skipper. "I don't know. But now we can't build a Chronotron," he answered.

"There has to be a reason why he vanished," Emily said. "I agree sis. But what?" Marlene asked her. We were all stumped. The scientist started waking back up, so unfortunately for him, we had to knock him out again. He would have a rough few days, most likely.

Even though it would probably fail anyway, I tried to call Kowalski back from wherever he had vanished to. I actually concentrated so hard that I gave myself a headache. It hurt slightly, but I managed to ignore it.

"Are you ok Dad?" Dylan asked me. "I think I'm fine. I just concentrated too hard," I answered him. "Did you forget your father's advice?" Emily asked me. "Yeah. The _don't think too hard, you might hurt yourself_ advice?" I asked her, blushing. "Yes," she answered.

"I'll just ignore the headache. When we get Kowalski and get back home, I'll get rid of it," I said to everyone. "We don't have your phone, so we can't even see where Kowalski went," Skipper said. "Sorry Skipper. I left it while we were fleeing," I said apologetically.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. We all forgot our Escape Suits as well," Marlene said. "I'm glad we're not in my world. If we had wound up outside my house, who knows what I'd be doing. Then my world would be ripped to shreds," I said.

We all shivered with the thought of either world disappearing into the void. "Well, what were you doing on November 15th in 2008?" Private asked me, seeing a calendar. * "I think, as usual back here, I was probably doing homework or something. But I can't remember. I'll figure that out later though," I answered.

"If we could only get into the zoo without the risk of destroying everything," Julia said, frustrated a bit. "Who's to say we can't?" Marlene asked everyone. We all looked at her curiously. "What I mean is, why can't we just knockout bomb everyone except the current Kowalski? And I'm in my cave right now, if I remember correctly," Marlene said.

"But how do we wipe Kowalski's memory of this if we don't have the brain-washing machine?" Anna asked her. Marlene thought for a moment. "Private, when was the last time you attempted hypnosis?" she asked him.

He thought for a moment. "I think I last tried it with Randy," Private answered. ** We all remembered the tale or actually being there of everyone being chickens. "Do you think you can do it successfully Private?" Sam asked him. "I think so. We need to find a store with that type of watch. But what about X, wherever he is?" Private asked us.

"There are 10 of us Private. We should be able to knock him out easily with a knockout bomb as well. But we should still stay in the sewer," Skipper said. We all agreed on the plan, as it seemed like the best one we could come up with. If Kowalski hadn't vanished, he would have most likely had a better option.

We then used the grappling gun to get back into the air ducts. This was a real problem. We needed to manage knocking out everyone from 2008 except for Kowalski and to wipe his mind. If we messed one thing up, it could essentially change everything. We still didn't know why we were back here anyway.

After going through the ducts, we were back in the lobby again. We avoided every human there and went back on the street. We covertly jumped down a manhole into the sewer. We smelled the rotten stench again, but had to push on.

After popping up manholes looking for a store, we finally found one. We saw that, luckily, there were no security cameras, so we would be free to move around inside. The humans had gone home as well. After carefully checking for a silent alarm, we proceeded inside.

"Is this what you need Private?" Anna asked him, after she found a watch. "Yes, thank you Annabelle," he said to her. "It's no trouble," she replied. "Private, I authorize you to use hypnosis. As long as you do not make me act like a hippie," Skipper said. We had to test to make sure it would work.

"Thank you Skipper. Now stare at the watch and relax," Private said, swinging is slowly back and forth. We all became entranced at it, following its motion. It felt like when Emily and I had been under the affect of the truth serum, stuck in a daze. ***

(P to 3rd person) Private then instructed everyone to go onto the roof to get a stone from the gravel on top. It was a simple task, so everyone did it easily. He then freed everyone from their trance.

"Cool, it worked!" Dylan exclaimed. "Bravissimo Private," Skipper said, complimenting him. "How did you do that Private?" Emily asked him. "It's simple. You just need to get the subject to completely relax and then you can get them to follow your instructions," Private answered her.

(P returning to me) "I'd like to try it, but I think we'll wait until later," Emily said. Rico then grunted in his usual way. "Yes Rico?" Skipper asked him. "Tingly," he said. We were afraid of that. Was he about to disappear as well? "Rico, we need a knockout bomb and the grappling guns," Skipper said, wanting them if it came to that.

Rico released a knockout bomb and a grappling gun quicker than we had ever seen. But like with Kowalski, he vanished. "Rico!" we all cried, panicked. **** We now had lost two good friends to whatever this madness was.

"This madness ends now!" Skipper proclaimed, fed up with this mess. "But what can we do about it?" Private asked Skipper. "The first thing to do is get the current Kowalski to help us figure out what's going on. Then we recover Rico and Kowalski and get out of here," Skipper said determined.

(P to Emily) We immediately agreed with him and headed back to the sewer. We were all depressed and confused. We had been sent to 2008 for a still unknown reason. On the specific date Marlene and I were split up. And we had lost two friends.

I looked at Matthew, terrified of losing him or the children. He tried to smile, but I saw sadness in his eyes. I started tearing up, but Matthew wiped them away and offered me his flipper to hold. I held it in my paw, hoping I wouldn't lose him. Dylan took my other paw while Julia held Matthew's other flipper.

Marlene and Skipper seemed to be doing the same with their children. We were all so frightened. We had been at peace for so long and now were being threatened by these forces. I wanted to be back home with everyone, safe and sound.

(P to 10 minutes later) We had just arrived at the last manhole before the park and left the stinky sewer behind. "Guys?" Private asked us. "Private, are you… tingly?" I asked him delicately. He nervously nodded. And then, like Kowalski and Rico, he vanished, dropping his watch.

That's the end of this chapter. Eek. Not good at all. Please review this chapter. I have multiple notes today.

* There is a specific date, I guess. For those of you that don't want to look it up, it was a Saturday.

** Referencing "Can't Touch This" when the Penguins tried to help Randy avoid children's' sticky hands.

*** Referencing the end of _In Our World: Book 5_.

**** Referencing "The Red Squirrel" here, sort of. It's like when they all screamed Rico after Rockgut thought he was a spy when they walked in on him.


	5. Chapter 5 - Dwindling Dumbers

Welcome to chapter 5. Shall we keep going? Lets.

**CHAPTER 5 – Dwindling Numbers**

(P staying with Emily) It was now just us 8. And we didn't know who would be next to vanish. I hoped that it would stop and we would all stay together. I didn't want to continue losing everyone. No one did.

It was just our little family now. We had been deeply hurt already, but if we lost anyone else, it would be truly devastating. We needed to fix this now. I picked up Private's watch from the floor and closed it in my paw.

I hugged Matthew and the children, not wanting to lose them. Marlene did the same to Skipper and her children. We were close-knit families and never wanted to be separated. But now we were threatened!

Matthew gave me a kiss, trying to assure me that we would all be fine. But I still looked in his eyes, mine filled with fear. He looked sad again that he couldn't help anyone. And I saw the faintest hint of anger at himself, but he was suppressing it very well.

We walked silently towards the zoo, while also trying not to be spotted by anyone. We were about halfway in the park, when the children spoke up. "I want to be safe back home," Julia said sadly. "Me too," Samuel agreed. Annabelle and Dylan also agreed.

Each of us parents tried to assure our children that we would all go home. "Dylan and Julia. We promise you that we will fix this. We will all get home and then go get snow cones," I said to them. "And you can be as mischievous as you want for a full day when we get home," Matthew said to them. I agreed with him.

(P to Marlene) Skipper and I tried to assure our children that we would go home. "Annabelle and Samuel. We promise you, we'll all go home safely. We'll even go for snow cones," I said to them. "And if your Aunt and Uncle allow your cousins to be mischievous, you can go along with them in that," Skipper said to the children.

(P to 3rd-person) Everyone was frightened at the prospect of losing more people. All they wanted was to go home safely and just relax and hope this never happened again. They wanted their missing friends back and some peace again. However, as they progressed through the park, more were to be lost.

(P to Emily) We were all walking when Julia and Dylan hugged Matthew and I tightly. Annabelle and Samuel did the same with Skipper and Marlene. They looked at us nervously. "No! Not my children!" I shouted to the universe.

"Save us Dad!" Dylan pleaded with Matthew. He concentrated with all his might, desperately trying to stop the tingling sensation they were feeling. He looked at the children with tears. "I…" he said, trailing off.

"We will get you back children. I promise you, you will not be gone forever," I tried to assure them. "I don't want to disappear!" Annabelle said, causing Marlene and Skipper hug her. Both of our families got together in a hug for a few moments and then it was just us parents.

Marlene and I wailed and wailed over the loss of our children. Our children, our flesh and blood, were gone. Our husbands tried to comfort us, but they couldn't. It hurt us all so badly. Our little babies were gone.

It hurt us so deep. I hadn't been this badly hurt since I had lost Marlene when she was transferred. She probably hadn't been hurt this much since then either. I wanted my little babies back. I just had them 7 months ago and they were just gone!

We needed to fix this. I just wanted to go home and relax. I didn't want to be scared of disappearing anymore. I had already passed my breaking point. We all had. We needed to figure out what this mess was caused by and how to get everyone back.

It took maybe 20 minutes for us all to somewhat calm down. "What's causing this?" Marlene asked us. "I don't know. But this is ridiculous. How dare whatever's causing this take everyone from us," Skipper said. We all agreed with him.

"There has to be a reason though. If this had wanted us gone, it could have done that at home," I said. "Absolutely true sis. What could be the reason? Especially based on the events that are actually happening here," Marlene said.

"Do you still not remember what made you curious?" Matthew asked her. "Sorry, but I just can't. I have no idea why. But if that's what we have to do, then I can't actually go into my habitat. If myself from here sees me, then its goodbye universe," Marlene said.

"Do you really think it's that Marlene?" I asked her. "I don't know. But evidence makes me think so," Marlene said. "It looks like you get to try out hypnotism Emily," Matthew said to me. "It looks like it. But can I practice first?" I asked him.

"Of course. We need to make sure it'll work," he replied. "Thank you. Ok, let me just think of something that doesn't involve hippies," I said. After a minute or two, I finally thought of one.

I then swung the watch back and forth, mesmerizing everyone. It was hard to not be taken over by that myself. I then directed everyone to peck at the ground for a full minute, as if they were chickens.

It worked and despite the situation, was amusing. Skipper and Matthew, being Penguins, had no trouble with their beaks, but Marlene was having a little trouble. Since she and I were Otters, our mouths didn't exactly work for pecking things off the ground.

It then wore off. "Good job Emily. It worked," Marlene said, while wiping dirt off her face. "Thank you sis. If only we could disguise you well enough to do this," I said to her. "I hate losing my power. I can't do anything. I wish I could do it everywhere," Matthew said. "I agree with you honey. But at least you'll always have it at home," I said to him.

"Yes, I'll never get rid of that. Right now, in 2008, though, the creators are in control. Your scripts are being written," Matthew said to Skipper and Marlene. "Yes, we're about to lose control of ourselves until we get out of the 4th wall," Skipper said.

Suddenly, all three of them grew nervous. "Emily…" Matthew said to me. "No! No! No more disappearances!" I exclaimed, hugging him. I was about to lose him as well. "You're our final hope Emily," he said to me. "I don't want to lose you!" I exclaimed, frightened.

"You won't Emily. I know you'll succeed," Matthew said to me. "You will Emily. Go make me curious through the tunnel in our habitat. Make me meet everybody. That will work," Marlene assured me. Matthew gave me a kiss and it was glorious. But then he vanished, along with Skipper and Marlene.

That's the end of the chapter. Oh, great. Emily's on her own. Please review this chapter. I have no notes today.


	6. Chapter 6 - Last Hope

Welcome to chapter 6. Let's jump right into the chapter, shall we? Sorry I'm late with this, some other stuff came up.

**CHAPTER 6 – Last Hope**

(P staying with Emily) I wailed once again, being left alone. Now it was all left up to me. I didn't want it to be! I wanted at least some help. It was literally me against the world. I then fought away the tears. If I vanished before I could fix it, there was no hope.

I went into the sewer to pop out of the habitat at the zoo. I would have to pass off to Marlene that it was her imagination that I were actually here. What I had heard earlier probably would help, though. She did seem hysterical. She lost both our parents and me.

I wound up in the sewer below the habitat. It hurt me to hear Marlene so sad. At the same time across the country at this moment though, I was doing the same thing. But Marlene was all alone. Back home I had our parents, at least for another few years. We still didn't know where they had gone.

Either I was about to mess up and change time more or I was going to fix this. But I decided that coming out of the sewer in the habitat was a bad move. It would certainly get Marlene's attention, but it would seem odd, since in 2008, I didn't do that type of activity yet.

I then headed to the nearest manhole inside of the zoo. I listened carefully and heard no one up above it. I carefully and slowly slid it open. It was a little difficult since I still had the watch in my hand. But I didn't want to disturb the Penguins or any other members of the zoo.

Especially not Skipper. If he saw me before Marlene, that would not be good at all. I had to start their Skilene, as people in Matthew's world were about to start calling it here in 2009. When I opened the manhole, I looked around and no one saw me. I closed it and scurried quietly to my habitat.

I did not go in the pond, as that would cause a splash. I tread carefully on the grass, desperate to not make a sound. I almost stepped on a leaf, nearly causing it to crack and make a sound. Finally, I arrived at the entrance to the cave. This was it.

(P to 2008 Marlene) I was crying, being all alone in this new place. I was now separated from my family. And I never even got to say goodbye! I would never see them again. I would never see my parents again or Emily. I would never see her again, missing out on all the fun we surely would have had together.

There weren't even any other Otters here to talk to. It was just me. I would make friends, sure, but it wouldn't be the same. I had so many good friends at home, even after what had happened. *

(P back to current Emily) I finally had figured out a plan. I now knew how to make Marlene think I was a hallucination of hers. I knew everything about my sister, so it wouldn't take a lot of effort. It would take some, but not a lot.

I walked into the cave carefully, nervous. I heard Marlene crying, which broke my heart. My sister had just been essentially ripped away from us. She was huddled in a small ball, looking depressed. That made me depressed too, seeing Marlene in this sad state. Hopefully I could bring her out of it.

Before I could speak, she noticed me. "Emily? Is it really you? Did you just arrive?" Marlene asked me. I was telling a lie and it hurt me. "Marlene, I'm still back at the aquarium. I'm sorry that I'm not here right now," I said to her.

"I'm going crazy! Now I'm imagining my sister here!" Marlene exclaimed. "Marlene. I might be a figment of your imagination, but I know what you're thinking," I said to her. "I want to go home to you and Mom and Dad," she said to me. "I know. Someday, you will see the aquarium again," I said to her. **

"But I want to go back now," she said to me. "I know. But you also hope you'll like it here," I said to her. Marlene stopped crying and looked at me curiously. "OK, imaginary Emily, how do I know that for sure?" she asked me. "You've always made friends Marlene, even after that scandal you had. No matter what, you always pull through," I said to her.

Based off her expression, she now believed that I was a figment of her imagination. "That's true. I always have. But there aren't any other Otters here," Marlene said to me. "No, not from what you've seen. But who says you can't make friends with non-Otters? After all, the Penguins next to our habitat have been friendly neighbors," I said to her.

"They are suspicious of us, but they are good friends," Marlene said to me. "Exactly. Now come on and get out of your slump. You'll make new friends in no time," I said to her. She smiled at me. "Thank you, my imagination, for this," Marlene said to me.

"Now please stare at the watch," I said to her, dangling it in Marlene's face. She looked at the watch and instantly became mesmerized by it. I now had to make her go meet Skipper and everyone.

"Marlene, you will not remember that I was here when I take you out of your trance. Do you understand?" I asked her. "I understand," she said to me, still in her trance. "Good. Now when you wake up from your trance, you will notice this tunnel," I said to her, walking over to it.

"You will be curious as to why it's here and will follow the tunnel all the way to its origin. But you will not know why you are curious," I said to her. "I understand," Marlene said to me.

"Now when I clap three times, you will wake up and not remember Emily coming to your habitat. You will not remember the conversation you had with her, but you will remain positive. And finally, you will go down the tunnel. Do you understand?" I asked her.

"I understand," Marlene replied. I hoped that this would work. I left Marlene in her trance before going down into the sewer, so that she would not see me. I then clapped three times and she woke up.

(P to 2008 Marlene) "What's going on?" I wondered to myself. I looked around and saw I was in my new habitat. "Hmm, what's this?" I asked myself, noticing an odd spot in the wall. I carefully stepped to it, and after some pulling, lifted it off the ground.

I fell on my rear, having used too much force. "Hey, a tunnel! Where did this come from?" I wondered to myself. My curiosity got the better of me. I carefully looked down the tunnel, seeing nothing. I was so curious that I started walking through it.

(P to Emily) I was literally the cause of Marlene meeting Skipper. This was insane. I had been through nutty stuff, but this topped it all. I saw her start to go through the tunnel and then disappear.

The training all that time ago gave me excellent hearing skills. It was getting quieter, but I heard Marlene walking through the tunnel. I clearly heard her yelp when, moments later, she walked in on everyone. I didn't know what was going on exactly, so I would ask her later. ***

Suddenly, I saw yellow sparks in front of me, so I backed away. A Portal then appeared. I was apprehensive about entering it, but I heard Marlene coming back. I had to jump through it. I did so and hoped it would take me home where everyone hopefully was.

That's the end of the chapter. Did you like it? I hope you did. Please review it. I have a few notes today.

* Marlene is referring to her scandal.

** Yep, in _Pengotters: The Early Months_, she will.

*** I don't have a story on that, but if you just make minor changes to GrandOldPenguin's _A Chance Encounter_ story in tandem with what you just read, that's what I was getting at.


	7. Chapter 7 - Back

Welcome to chapter 7. Let's proceed, shall we?

**CHAPTER 7 – Back**

(P staying with Emily) I hoped that everyone would suddenly reappear while I was going through the Portal, but they didn't. I hoped they would when I saw the next portal, but they also did not.

I braced for my impact, since the last one made us all black out. Like the last one, I also couldn't see what was on the other side. But I passed through it and was surrounded by water and upside down.

I righted myself and started swimming towards the top. I was in the pond at the Otter habitat. I didn't see Julia, Marlene, or Annabelle, though. I still didn't see them in the cave. I headed to the HQ, hoping they would be there.

I landed in the pool after jumping over the fence. I swam to the top, hoping everyone would be there. But they weren't. I opened the hatch and they still weren't back! I checked all the bunks, seeing if anyone was invisible. But they weren't. I climbed into my own bunk and wailed, having lost everything I held near and dear.

I had lost my friends, my sister, brother, niece and nephew. I had lost my husband and my own children. I was all alone again. All of my family and friends were gone. I wailed for 20 minutes before suddenly hearing three splashes.

I stopped wailing, but tears kept running down my face. I was just imagining those splashes. No one was back, my mind was just crazy with my loss. I began wailing again.

(P to me) Suddenly, I was up in the sky, falling to the ground. I looked quickly and saw I was in the zoo. Suddenly, I hit the water in the pool. The last thing I remembered was fading, but now I was back. Emily must have fixed it.

With those thoughts as I was swimming back up, two things landed on me, sending me back down. I used some force to send them back up to the surface and went up myself. "Who squashed me?" I asked aloud, while coughing up some water.

"Dad? Are we back?" I heard Julia's voice ask. I finally opened my eyes and saw both Julia and Dylan in front of me. I immediately hugged them and they hugged me. "Yes, your mother did it! She brought us back," I said happily to them.

Suddenly, we heard a very loud wailing sound from in the HQ. I guessed that it was most likely Emily. She probably thought she had failed. I immediately brought her up to where we were.

(P back to Emily) Suddenly, I went from the dark HQ wailing to up above kissing someone and getting hugs. I immediately stopped trying to wail and immediately kissed Matthew back and hugged him and the children close. I knew immediately it was them. I had really done it! I hadn't failed, I did it!

I split apart and sure enough, Matthew and the children were here! "I did it!" I exclaimed happily. "Yes, honey, you did it," Matthew said happily, kissing me. Suddenly, all four of us were squashed. We pushed whatever had squashed us off and into the pool.

Whatever it was swam back up and coughed up water. "Emily, you did it!" Marlene exclaimed happily after she regained her breath. She, Skipper, Annabelle, and Samuel were all back as well. I gave them all big hugs, so happy to see them again.

"I did! I'm so glad you're back!" I exclaimed happily. We then heard three more splashes in the pool, meaning everyone was back now! Everyone congratulated me on my success. It felt great that we were all safe and sound.

"So where did you disappear to?" I asked everyone. "We don't know. The last thing I remember is your kiss Emily," Matthew said to me. "Whatever the case, I'm so terribly confused at it all. Of all the things to start your relationship, it was me!" I exclaimed to Skipper and Marlene.

"What exactly did you do, anyway? I know you convinced me, since I did go through the tunnel. But what exactly?" Marlene said to me. "I'll just give you that memory back Marlene," Matthew said to her. He concentrated and it worked!

(P to Marlene) Upon my request for Matthew, I started to remember everything! After all this time, I finally remembered what made me curious. It was Emily! She had essentially pushed me to see Skipper. My own sister was essentially the reason that I got out of my sadness and decided to go through the tunnel!

(P to me) Emily had saved us all. I was so proud of her. All on her own, she managed to get us all back and save everything. I gave her a kiss, so happy our group was together again because of her. She immediately returned the favor, so happy we were back.

"You did a great job Emily," I said to her. "Thanks honey. I'm so glad you're all back," she said, before kissing me yet again. "Our lives are all strange," Marlene said. "They sure are," Annabelle said, making us all laugh at the truth.

That's the end of the chapter. A little short, I know. But please review it. Oh, and that's the end of the book as well. As usual, don't fret. Read the epilogue, please. I've got no notes for this chapter today.


	8. Chapter 8 - Epilogue

Welcome to the epilogue for _In Our World: Book 8_. Book 8, wow. So it's been over a year since Book 1. That is insane. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed any part of this series. It really means a lot.

So let's go to plot points of this, yes? So this was really emotional, wasn't it? It really was. Characters disappeared. As I've said before, I won't ever actually get rid of any. But wow, it was insane to do that.

So everything up to not being able to go back to the zoo was planned out. I chose Boston only because I needed to get us away from the zoo at first for a little bit. No real reason other than that. And because I know somewhat of the layout there.

So everyone disappearing actually came out later, as did Emily having to fix the problem we had. I was planning for my OC of Matthew to do this, but changed it to Emily, since she is Marlene's sister, after all. That's a much deeper connection.

So I've messed with everything yet again. Of course, I've done that since, well, the beginning. But it really started all the way back in the early part of the year, with _Pengotters: The Early Months_, so meh.

So if you have any plot questions, then as usual, PM me. Then I'll add them here with your permission.

So big news! I am absolutely still not done. I've been working on Book 9! Yep, more stories to tell! It's hard to come keep coming up with ideas, but I always manage to pull through with that. Here's the plot for Book 9!

_It's been a few months since the last problem and everything has been quiet. But when a Kowalski invention messes up, a pathway to an alternate universe pops up._

So that's a rough synopsis of the plot. Don't worry; this one won't be as emotional as this one. It will be humorous. That emotional stuff is fun to write, but it really takes a toll on you. That's why after Book 5, Book 6 really suffered.

I just finished this story a few days ago, but it's finally done. It took me longer than usual, but it's ready. It will be out in exactly one week, on November 23rd. Finally, thanks for all the reviews! They seriously mean a lot to me! I'll see you all in one week!


End file.
